SEASON 4: PLAYER ROLES ; EPISODE 30: PLAYER ROLE (FINISHER)

(UPADTE: FALL 2025) Wow, we’ve come along way haven’t we, Soccermanagerite? Still feels like it was only a week ago when I uploaded the first role of this season (the ‘Fullback’ role). Now, we’ve reach the end of the outfield roles within Soccermanager (can’t forget about our Goalkeepers) and we “finish” it off with a bunch of players that know a thing or two about “finishing”…

In today’s episode, we are taking a look at the guys who have ice in their veins: The ‘Finisher’. When it comes to roles within Soccermanager where a player only has one sole responsibility yet are completely worldclass at it, the ‘Finisher’ role sums it up to a T. ‘Finishers’ are all about one thing and one thing only: the art of goal scoring. They can do other things as well on the pitch but are just naturals when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net. It’s like they have a sixth sense when it comes to taking chances since they are so deadly in front of goal. As a matter of fact, compared to every other forward role, none of them can match a ‘Finisher’s’ ability to convert their chances. (Standing on business with that statement! 😤)

While ‘Target Men’ need to showcase their physical prowess, ‘Deep-lying Forwards’ needing to dictate the tempo, and ‘General Forwards’ needing to roam around to be at their best, The ‘Finisher’ only usually needs one attempt at goal every 20 minutes or so and tend to ALWAYS score when that chance comes. They epitomize the saying “become great at one thing“.

ATTACKING PHASE

Now, when it comes to a ‘Finisher’ and the phases of play, it all depends on the player you have within your XI. There are some ‘Finishers’ who are brilliant explosive dribblers and like to drift out-wide to get pass a D(R) or D(L) (like an Ollie Watkins), while there are other ‘Finishers’ who just like to make runs in behind of a defence ( like a Viktor Gyökeres). One thing that every ‘Finisher’ has in common, however, is their unwillingness to be bothered at all to get into your team’s build up play. They basically stay on the shoulder of a D(C) pairing which has a knock on effect of opening space for teammates (especially between the lines) but could care less about getting involved with any of the initial build up phases of possession.

‘Finishers’ also have the best off the ball movement in soccer so they will always be “in on goal” even if your playmakers in your XI don’t spot their run; if you have a ‘Finisher’ who is a decent dribbler they will look to make runs down both flanks to take a D(C) from his comfort position. If your ‘Finisher’ isn’t the greatest on the ball he will simply make endless runs in behind over and over without giving the defenders any respite whatsoever.

DEFENSIVE PHASE

Generally speaking, most ‘Finishers’ work like dogs off the ball and are extremely aggressive defenders, but the beauty about them is that they don’t need to press at all and it still won’t affect their game when it comes to being in possession. Strikers of other roles with high work rate have to press in order to feel like they’re still in the game, but ‘Finishers’ just don’t care man… They are completely fine preserving their energy until your team wins back the ball and you really can’t blame them for this because when they get on the ball it’s usually around the box and the outcome is usually a goal.

POSITIONAL TRAITS

A ‘Finisher’ can only play in one position and that’s as your F(C). There are some who can play in the AM,F(RL) positions, but they are pretty much useless out there and only offer a solid work rate which does nothing for you when you’re on the attack.

When it comes to the use of arrows, you have to ensure that your F(C)’s arrow is pointing to ‘attacking’ in order for him to truly play as a F ‘Finisher’. You must also tick the ‘use target man’ box since Finishers only want to stay on the defender’s shoulder, and by using him you’re giving your midfielders and wingers the chance to find his excellent runs which will conjure up some goal scoring opportunities. (UPDATE: As you should be well aware of, SMW now gives us the opportunity to just give our No.9 the ‘Finisher’ role but it is still crucial that we choose to use him as our target man since this is the only way for him to be at his absolute best.

KEY ATTRIBUTES (From SM26 onwards)

There’s not a lot of key attributes needed to play as a ‘Finisher’ but that is a good thing since it means that they are easier to incorporate into your XI.

Positioning
Movement
Finishing 
Composure
Concentration 
Leadership

BEST PLAYERS OF ROLE IN SOCCERMANAGER WORLDS

Here’s the list of the best players of the ‘Finisher’ role within Soccermanager Worlds (UPDATED, of course) :

Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
Erling Haaland 🇳🇴
Luis Suárez 🇺🇾
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang 🇬🇦
Romelu Lukaku 🇧🇪
Ciro Immobile 🇮🇹
Lautaro Martínez 🇦🇷
Jamie Vardy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Mauro Icardi 🇦🇷
Viktor Gyökeres 🇸🇪
Ollie Watkins 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
Heung-min Son 🇰🇷
Álvaro Morata 🇪🇸
Nicolas Jackson 🇸🇳
Loïs Openda 🇧🇪

HONORABLE MENTIONS
Darwin Ńuñez 🇺🇾 
Andrade Richarlison 🇧🇷
Santiago Giménez 🇺🇾
Moise Kean 🇮🇹
Barbosa Evanilson 🇧🇷

And that’s a wrap, Soccermanagerite! We’ve completed every single outfield player role Soccermanager has to offer. All that’s left to do is to give a shout out to the boys between the sticks. See you guys next time for another amazing adventure into the Soccermanagerverse! ✌️ ⚽ 🌎